City all set for the Pune Lit Fest; Banu Mushtaq, Shubhanshu Shukla the luminaries

The six-day event will run alongside the Pune Book Festival, which begins on December 13 and continues until December 21 on the college grounds. Together, the two festivals are expected to turn the campus into a space filled with books, conversations, music and diverse audiences.

Abhay Kulkarni, a member of the organising committee, said that the Lit Fest aims to bring readers, writers and cultural thinkers together. It will host 34 sessions with nearly 50 speakers. The first three days will focus on Marathi literature, while the next three days will present sessions in Hindi and English.

Kulkarni shared that the fest will feature External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Booker winning author Banu Mushtaq, journalist M. J. Akbar, filmmaker Siddharth Kak, actor Sachin Pilgaonkar and actress Girija Oak. Marathi sessions will include speakers like Sharan Kumar Limbale, Pravin Dixit, Anand Deshpande, Avinash Dharmadhikari, Ashwini Bhide, Hrishikesh Gupte and others.

Kulkarni also mentioned that there will be a provision for people to publish their own writings as well. The fest will also host a photo exhibition, he said. “Youngsters will be excited to know that Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, will also be at the fest on 21st December”, said Kulkarni.

Visitors moving between the Lit Fest and the Book Festival will find many attractions beyond the discussions. The Pune Book Festival has set up nearly eight hundred book stalls featuring Indian languages, major publishers and independent presses. A dedicated children’s corner will offer drawing, singing, elocution and writing competitions along with workshops for young readers. Kulkarni also noted that a special stall has been created to mark the one hundred and fiftieth birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, tracing his life and displaying more than one lakh tribal words.

Evenings will be lively as cultural performances begin on December 13 and continue throughout the festival. The programme will feature the Parashara Band on the opening night, followed by Kerala’s popular Thaikkudam Bridge. Later evenings will include Nirantaran, Fok Lok, Ritubarwa and devotional presentations such as Tuka Mhanay and Punyashlok. The final night will close with a performance by internationally known musician Ricky Kej.